CT Oilers Notebook: Oilers will take time replacing departed skaters

By BOB BIRGEHour Correspondent

Published 6:01 pm, Thursday, January 9, 2014

NORWALK -- Andy Faust's unexpected departure before the winter break clearly left the Connecticut Oilers in a bind as they lost their second-leading scorer and a player good enough to join brother Joe at Division I Army next fall.

Coach Eric Lind said the Oilers (18-8-1-1) eventually will bring in a replacement for Faust, who scored 30 points before being traded back to the Coulee Region Chill of the NAHL for future considerations, and already have invited a few players in for tryouts.

However, Lind also said he wants to make sure the addition is a good fit, and the Oilers do have some time as the EHL rosters don't freeze until Feb. 10.

"We've been looking at a few players, but we don't want to rush anything," Lind said. "We're definitely going to bring someone in. It's just that we're not in a rush. Sometimes when you're in a rush, you make rash decisions. We want to see how the teams responds."

The Oilers did not respond well without Faust in their first game of 2014, suffering a 5-1 loss to the Hartford Junior Wolfpack on Sunday.

Of course, they also were playing without four suspended players -- defensemen Grant Hazel, Drazen Zack, Cam Cundy and forward Justin Rehrer, who will complete their two-game bans on Saturday when the Oilers return to action at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

"There's going to be more of an opportunity for kids who weren't playing as much to produce," said Oilers' leading scorer Joe Widmar. "It should excite a lot of kids on the team to get this opportunity. It's just whether or not kids are going to be willing to step up into that role. I think we have those character kids on the team to step up."

The Oilers also will sign a third goaltender as insurance to back up Chris Bastone and Josh Sarlo, who are now battling for the starting job after Nik Nugnes joined the University of Maine hockey team for the second semester.

"You're going to need three goalies going into the playoffs, if one of those (other) goalies get hurt," Lind said. "On Feb. 10 our roster freezes, so if we don't have a third goalie and someone gets hurt, that puts us in a real bad situation."

In the short term, the Oilers will be looking for a bounce-back effort this weekend after their lackluster performance against the Wolfpack.

"The suspensions had nothing to do with it," Widmar said. "We just played soft. We got out-worked and out-battled. To be honest, it was unacceptable."

EJEPL ALl-STARS: The Oilers will be well-represented in the second EJEPL jamboree, which will take place Jan. 20 in Bridgewater, Mass.

In the under-16 division, five players from the Oilers were selected: Brian Silard, Jack Flanagan, Max Fuld, Jamie Swiggett and goaltender Chris Stangarone.

In league play only, Fuld is the EJEPL leader in points (25) and assists (16) while Stangarone is tied for first in wins with 11.

First-place New York Apple Core (11-1-0-0) led all teams with nine players chosen for the jamboree.

The All-Stars were divided into "White and "Blue" teams and will play a pair of games on the under-16 and under-18 levels.

With the Oilers (10-4-0-1) in second place, Connecticut's Gary Bingham will serve as one of the coaches for the U-16 White squad, which includes all the Connecticut players.

The Oilers will have a total of seven members of their organization in Bridgewater as Connor McCutcheon was chosen to represent their U-18 team.

MJHL ALL-STARS: Kevin Robinson and Giancarlo Pochintesta will represent the Oilers in the MJHL's All-Star Sunday set for Jan. 26 in Walpole, Mass.

Robinson, who scored all four goals in Fairfield's 4-3 overtime victory against East Catholic in last season's CIAC Division II state championship game, is the Oilers' leading scorer (11-9-20) while Pochintesta (3-7-10) has been solid on defense.

All-Star Sunday consists of the prospects game for players born only in 1996 and 1997 and the All-Star game for players aged 16 to 20.

The four teams will be chosen through a draft and the MJHL has not yet announced the actual rosters.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Oilers are back in action this weekend with a pair of games at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday (7 p.m.) and Sunday (4:45 p.m.).

WBS (14-12-5-0) is tied for second in the Central Division with the surging Hartford Junior Wolfpack (14-10-3-2), who are on a 4-0-1 run. The Knights and Wolfpack trail the Oilers by five points.

After this weekend, the Oilers can look forward to seven straight home games, including three in as many days next weekend.

The Oilers' MJHL team (7-17-0-5) will end a three-week layoff with a pair of home contests this weekend against the New York Saints on Saturday (6 p.m.) and the Long Island Royals on Sunday (6:30 p.m.).

The under-16 squad hosts New York Apple Core on Sunday (12 p.m.) in a battle for first place in the EJEPL.

The Oilers' lost the two previous league meetings between the teams by a combined score of 11-2.